Crow's Banquet
by Vega Cataline
Summary: Turmoil, violence and death turn no heads in the Makai. However, when a horde of possessed demons attacks the Shenobi stronghold and other bands begin ravaging the demon world, the young fire master, Veyna, vows to find the cause and destroy it. Luckily,


**A/N: Quick note here. First, I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Second, although the main canon characters (Yuuske and crew) don't appear in this chapter, I **promise** they'll will be playing an important and prominent role in the story. Third, much more action is coming in the next chapter. I just had to get things started here. And finally, please, please, please review – even if you didn't like it, tell me! At least I'll know what to fix. And if you did like it, believe me, nothing makes an authoress type faster than to see reviews! **

_WHOOM!  
_  
The hollow sound of flesh on steel doors reverberated through the near empty rooms of the dojo.

Fifteen pairs of eyes flickered to the one barrier separating them from the raging mob outside.

They all sat together in the largest of the three rooms left to them, huddled close for warmth, for safety, in fear. One of the children whimpered and buried her head in her mother's lap. No one spoke, a silence that had lasted since the pounding had begun again that morning.

Veyna sat quietly in a corner, listening to the ominous noise, by now coming in regular intervals closer and closer together. She grunted. "_Like birth contractions_," she thought, watching Kawti, a young deer demon, nervously nursing her tiny infant. Fear swam in the young woman's eyes when they met Veyna's.  
The Fire Master was rowing frustrated. Sitting here listening to that deranged mass of demon flesh slowly break down their door was accomplishing nothing! They were lucky the wards on the massive edifice had held so far against the powerful attacks of the stricken Masters. Brute strength was the mob's last resort and who knew how well it would work? Her nails clicked a tense staccato rhythm on the floor releasing nervous pent-up energy.  
Her flame-red eyes roamed restlessly about the confines of the room, came back to rest in front of her and widened in surprise to rind icy blue ones staring back at close range. Almost startled, almost.  
"A counsel?" queried the owner of the frigid eyes, Touya, the Ice Master. His low voice sounded loud, yet eerily calm, in the thick atmosphere.  
Veyna grinned. Finally. "A council!"

She accepted his helping hand up, his grip cool against her warm palm. They walked out, single file, signaling to Rishyo and Gama as they went. The footsteps of the four demons fell together in a scary beat with the booming at the door.  
Kawti looked up as they passed, her infant still at her breast and her small deer ears pricked up in anxiety. Veyna smiled at her as they walked by, hoped the gesture conveyed the reassurance it was meant to. An older water demon called Soom started to rise to join them, cradling his bandaged left arm with his right, but a raised hand from Rishyo, who was now leading the way, stopped him.

They strode into the third room, furthest from the one they had just left and the one least likely to be overheard from. Spread out in a four- cornered circle, they regarded each other.  
Rishyo began in a cold, thin voice.

"What?"

Veyna echoed the Earth Master in surprise, "What? A council of war, you baka!"

Gama sneered derisively, "A council of war? Against that mindless rabble? They don't think, they have no strategy, they simply and blindly attack!"

"By the Four, Veyna!" Rishyo cut back in, "We've been over this before and there is no course of action we can take except the present. Or, rather, there is, but you refused it, if you remember, Fire Master?"

"Fuck you, Rishyo! These people came to us for help. I will not abandon them to that diseased filth!"

Veyna growled in anger and blinked back tears of frustration. How had they gotten to this point? When the leader of the Shenobi was actually suggesting – no, advocating! – sacrificing innocents!

_FLASHBACK _

"Jin! Come down here where I can hit you! My Flash Fire can't reach that high!"

Veyna paced up and down in the large clearing outside the dojo where she and the Wind Master were training. She hated it when he dodged her attacks like this. It was such a cheap defense!  
She abruptly stopped her pacing when Jin's posture snapped from its teasing position (feet spread wide, thumbs in ears, fingers waggling, tongue stuck out) into one of strict attention.

"Jin? What is it? What do you see?"

The Fire Master also hated being short, but her ears pricked up when Jin called down a response.

"Somethin' strange is a'goin' on over th' next hill. Ah can't be tellin' quite, but it looks like some demons runnin' this way. Nay! Not running, bein' chased! Holy Four! It's an Enma be damned demon army!"

Veyna laughed. "Nice story Jin, but it's not going to get you out of sparring with me!"

Another Flash Fire attack began to form in her hand but it was snuffed out by the force of the wind accompanying Jin as he swooped down to grab her by the shoulders. The expression of horror in his usually perky, elfin face stopped her cold.

"We ain't got time for that nonsense, Vey'! These people are in a mite o' trouble. Now come on. Run that a'way!"

She met Jin's eyes and nodded in assent. There was no way that he could fain such seriousness about a joke no matter how badly the fun-loving elf wanted to get out of a sparring session. Without a backwards glance, she took off lightening quick in the direction Jin had pointed.

The Fire Master skidded to a stop at the top o the hill, dirt flying from under her feet. By the Four Elements, it was a demon army! Hundreds of demons were spilling through the forest, too many to fight even with her and Jin's considerable powers.  
But something wasn't quite right. This army wasn't attacking like a normal army. The demons were simply rushing forward, screaming and howling – no lines of battle, no formation, no weapons, no discernable order of any kind.

But she could afford no time in pondering what this meant. She had spotted the refugees.  
There were eleven, running scattered though the underbrush, trying desperately to stay five steps ahead of the demon horde.,

Veyna leapt into action but she was beaten to it by Jin, who had bounded in behind the last refugee. A blast of wind erupted from his outstretched palm, scattering the advancing demons like flies – flies that rose immediately to continue tormenting.  
The blonde-haired fire demon added her own sparks to the fray. Her signature Flash Fire, long columns of burning flame, tore into the attacking demons. Spinning, she tried to take out as many as possible but she soon realized that precision was vital – and time-consuming. Without it, the demons simply rose again, missing and arm or part of a torso, but rising anyway. Nor could she prevent every demon from getting past.

"Veyna!" came a cry from her airborne friend, "Ah'll hold this lot off! You go and get these poor souls tay the dojo, hear?"

She endured a moment of indecision, unwilling to leave the Wind Master to fight this enormous battle alone.

"Go Vey', whydoncha! My ears are twitchin' with excitement but I cain't enjoy this fight with them still runnin'!"

Veyna growled and shot off a few more bursts of flame before turning back . She felt the aftershock of another of Jin's wind lasts as she disappeared back into the woods. Now where could those demons have gone?

Her breath was coming harder now as she raced through the woods towards the dojo hoping that she hadn't passed anyone on the way back.  
Suddenly, screams exploded to her right. Like a cracked whip, she spun in that direction and hurled herself on the scaly, lizard-like demon attacking the screaming deer demon. The force of the blow knocked them both off the deer demon and sent them kidding across the forest floor.  
Veyna tried to motion of yell to the deer demon to keep running but the doe was too terrified to do anything but stare wide-eyed.  
The lizard had the Fire Master on her back now, his claws closing around her neck. This was not the way she wanted to fight this battle! With a grunt of effort, she shoved her knee into the lizard demon's stomach. Hs claws opened spasmodically and she wriggled from his grasp, dealing another hey blow to his head in the process. Free now, she held her hand close to the demon's head and yelled, "Death's Blaze!"  
The demon's head evaporated.  
Only now, turning toward the deer demon, did Veyna see that she carried a tiny infant in one arm. She moved toward the paralyzed doe, grabbed her, forced her to run along. But they hadn't moved ten steps when a screech tore from a demon high above them and a huge weight fell onto Veyna's back.  
The weight disappeared as quickly as it had come. Slightly dazed, Veyna stood. Next to her was the body of another demon a vile substance oozing from the corner of its open mouth and a large shard of ice embedded in its head.  
She looked up into icy blue eyes – Touya. Thank the Four! But the eyes were agitated now rather than their normal calm and his voice was urgent.

"Hurry Veyna, Jin can't hold them off much any longer and Rishyo and Gama have their hands full trying to keep the dojo open."

"What about the other Masters?"

Touya's look told her all she needed to know and a deep pit started to form in her stomach. Orone, Mirna, Loshi, all taken by this...this madness? She fought to ignore the feeling, focusing instead on the deer demon and her infant.

"She needs our help."

The three demons staggered to the clearing housing the dojo complex. Veyna cursed when she peaked through the trees to see Gama and Rishyo going head to head with Fin, the former Water Master. Thankfully, the huge door was still open a crack, enough to sneak in quickly.  
Leaving the deer demon in Touya's hands, Veyna started back to the open door but only stepped out in time to see Rishyo, in his Armor of Clay, deal a final blow to Fin. The Water Master gave one last groan and sunk to the ground, foul-smelling liquid dripping from his severed head. Rishyo quickly divested himself of his armor and he and Gama rushed to the dojo.

"Where's Jin?" Rishyo demanded of the Fire Master, his tall form towering over her diminutive one.

"There!" she pointed over his shoulder at a dot in the sky getting closer and closer. Jin landed in a rush of warm wind.

"Get in an' close th' door! They're comin'!"

The four Masters, all that remained of the Shenobi sect, stepped inside, letting the huge steel doors clang shut behind them. Silence fell, the only sound the hiccupping of the tiny infant and the soft crying of the other refugees.

"Oh Enma!"_ thought Veyna, _"What's happening?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------_  
_

**Thanks for reading! Now if you'll _juuuust_ hit that lil' review button in the corner now, more chapters will be forthcoming and I promise they'll bring the arrival of Yuuske and ****crew! **


End file.
